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| State cannot afford to operate prisons |
| By blog.syracuse.com |
| Published: 04/10/2009 |
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The prison population has been shrinking in New York for a decade. The state has 59,848 inmates -- more than 50 percent fewer than it had in 1999. The greatest declines have been at its minimum- and medium-security facilities as more non-violent offenders leave prison early through programs such as the Shock Incarceration Program, where inmates can accelerate their release after successful completion, or being placed into drug treatment. That reality, coupled with the state's ongoing financial woes, should have compelled state lawmakers long ago to close half-empty prisons. But they didn't, despite the efforts of past governors George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer. Republican lawmakers, trying to protect economic lifelines in their rural Upstate communities, blocked the prison closure proposals. Spitzer couldn't even get support for a commission to study prison closure. But last week, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a budget that includes closure of three Upstate minimum-security prisons: Camp Gabriels in Franklin County; Camp McGregor in Saratoga County; and Camp Pharsalia in Chenango County. The selection of these particular prisons, which were also included in a Spitzer plan, seems reasonable. The state says it will save $12 million this year by closing the facilities around July 1. They are sorely underutilized: Gabriels has 87 inmates and a capacity of 336 beds; McGregor has 54 inmates and 300 beds; and Pharsalia has 84 inmates and 258 beds. In fact, the populations from the three prisons could be combined and still would not fill the beds at Pharsalia. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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